A stunning national park ranks among the best in the world, but doesn’t having the heaving crowds you’ll find at other highly-rated wilderness holiday destinations.
Durmitor National Park in Montenegro is a protected area in the north of the country home to more than 50 peaks, of which the tallest is the epic Bobotov Kuk, which stands at a whopping 2523 meters.
Despite being a sought-after spot for hikers, the nation park is “relatively unknown to tourists”, compared to “other popular European destinations, such as the Swiss Alps, which are often overcrowded in peak holiday season”, MyLondon reports.
Chasing Trail Blog says nature lovers “will enjoy hiking or exploring” the exquisite hills of this celebrated landscape, known as the “Montenegrin Alps”.
According to UNESCO, the “breathtaking” site was “formed by glaciers and is traversed by rivers and underground streams”.
“Along the Tara river canyon, which has the deepest gorges in Europe, the dense pine forests are interspersed with clear lakes and harbour a wide range of endemic flora,” the organisation adds on its website.
Travel blogger Medha Verma wrote on her travel site Hopping Feet in 2021 that as a fan of mountains, valleys, lakes, greenery, nature walks and hikes, this area of Montenegro suprised her “not only because it surpassed the beauty of the crystal-clear blue water beaches & the stunning coastal drives in west Montenegro, but because it had hidden, unknown lakes that are more incredible than some of the lakes I have seen in other parts of Europe”.
She recommended travellers base themselves in Zablja, a town centre of the Durmitor mountain region.
“A popular ski resort in the winter, Zabljak is a sleepy town in summer but well-placed geographically to explore the surrounding areas,” she wrote.
Skiing is a big thing in these parts, and between December to March, Durmitor itself is a major ski resort, though in the summer months a prized destination for hiking and rafting, as per Lonely Planet.
Highlights include Tara Canyon, with striking views across the the Tara River, and the dozen-plus “glittering glacial lakes known as gorske oči (mountain eyes)” which “dot the Durmitor range”, including the Black Lake which is about 1.8miles walk from Žabljak, the website says.
Lonely Planet also recommends the the park’s notable Stećci Sites, home to mysterious carved stone tomb monuments from the 12th to 16th centuries.
Best of all, the park is just a three-hour drive from the Adriatic coast, making it a great place to cool off after enjoying Montenegro’s famous beaches, Medha says.
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